Just before nine on Sunday morning on Radio Four used to be the Alastair Cooke slot. It's now occupied by a simple ten minute programme called "A Point Of View" which is even better. This used to be done by Brian Walden. It's currently done by Clive James.This week's monologue (for that's all it is) was about the wisdom of veteran tennis players. You can read it or listen to it here. Noting that a handful of former champions (McEnroe, Navratilova, King) can be relied upon to say something insightful when given the chance, he celebrates the many rain delays in the recent tournament for the chances it gave them. I found when I was flicking around I actually preferred it when there was no play for this very reason. I'm the same with the cricket on Test Match Special. Hearing Viv Richards and Tony Cozier talking about the Caribbean during the recent series was not just a joy - it provided illumination you wouldn't get anywhere else. During a lunch break in the one-day games they had Graham Taylor and Frank Skinner talking about their love of the game. I could have listened quite happily for more than an hour.
TV and radio presenters spend most of their time saying "that's all we've got time for", which is a lie. These media are actually at their best when they decide they have all the time in the world. Maybe that's what we can all learn from podcasting.
There's very little more attractive or exciting than hearing people talk about their passions, and in the current media environment, unless those passions are having your boobs enlarged, making money, or enjoying having ho's swinging their arse in your face, there's very little room for it. (The Word excepted, natch). The days of the media maverick who just stood on the box or wireless and talked, purely because they had a right to, are veeery long gone. I'm just reading Clive James' third volume of autobiography, and concluding that we shall not see his like again.
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